Jerome (Jerry) Balka, a lawyer and community activist who championed Philadelphia street vendors and social justice causes, died Oct. 10 at his home in Philadelphia. He was 95.
His death, surrounded by family, was due to age-related ailments, according to his daughter Christie Balka.
As legal counsel for the United Vendors of Philadelphia beginning in the 1970s, Balka knew every outdoor food vendor in Center City – their names, locations and nationalities. His advocacy was inspired by his father, who sold bananas from a cart after immigrating from Russia as an eight-year-old. Most of his work with street vendors focused on small business issues, zoning and immigration challenges.
In 1990, Balka orchestrated a citywide vendor strike to protest proposed location restrictions from the Chamber of Commerce. The action left Center City streets quiet and office workers without lunch while hundreds of vendors packed City Council chambers. When a network television station aired a series questioning street food safety, he collaborated with the Philadelphia Health Department to develop voluntary food safety training programs.
"All three of us children went into helping professions because our parents modeled a sense of social responsibility," said Christie Balka, former executive director of Bread and Roses and advocate for Public Citizens for Children & Youth. "They gave us a feeling that we could change the world for the better. Dad loved having a house full of children and later teenagers. There was an open door policy. Our house was the center of the neighborhood. Anyone in the neighborhood could walk in and have dinner with us."
His son Richard added, "I feel like his best quality was his interest in fighting for the underdog, whether it was a recent immigrant, a new business owner or a client wrongly accused or just struggling. He liked fixing other people's problems... He was proud to have had a significant impact on so many people's lives. His occupation was such a strong part of his identity that I have to say he was most proud to be a Philadelphia lawyer."
Born to Eastern European Jewish immigrants Henry W. Balka and Rose Fenner Balka in Philadelphia, Balka grew up in West Mt. Airy. He attended Houston School and Central High School, where he developed his lifelong love of the Wissahickon Valley trails as an Eagle Scout. After graduating from Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he served in Army counterintelligence before becoming an assistant district attorney in Philadelphia. He later opened a private practice focusing on business, family and criminal law.
A committed community leader, Balka served as president of both Allens Lane Arts Center and West Mt. Airy Neighbors. As a Democratic committeeperson in the Ninth Ward, he famously combined Halloween trick-or-treating with voter outreach, canvassing in costume with his children. After his children grew up, he and his wife Arleen moved from Mt. Airy to Chestnut Hill in 1980.
In the 1970s, Balka and Arleen were among the first Jewish members admitted to the Germantown Cricket Club. As club president, he later advocated successfully with his friend John Raines, a Temple University religion professor, to admit Dr. Deuward Hughes as the club's first African American member. "There was some really nasty opposition," Christie said, "But Dr. Hughes was admitted. It was a big deal at the time."
Arleen, his wife of 71 years, was a talented dancer early in life, performing with Philadelphia's first Modern Dance Company before later volunteering as a choreographer at Allens Lane Art Center. In his final years, Balka became her devoted caregiver.
Balka remained active well into his 80s, skiing, playing tennis and gardening. He proudly claimed knowledge of every trail in the Wissahickon, where he hiked throughout his life. At his 95th birthday celebration in July, while in home hospice, Balka maintained his characteristic wit. His daughter Christie said his final goal was to live long enough to vote in the upcoming election.
"When he was told he was near the end of his life, he asked me how many days until the election," she said. "The last thing he said to me was that he was worried about an insurrection. We, his children, have very fond memories of canvassing and helping him out at his polling place twice a year on election day when he was a committeeperson."
Survivors include his wife Arleen; sister Ruth Bacharach and family; brother- and sister-in-law Jack and Dolores Segal of Florida and family; and children Christie (Rebecca Alpert), Ellen (Wendy Williams), and Richard (Paula Jones). He is also survived by grandchildren Lynn Alpert, Avi Alpert, Chris Higgins, Bill Higgins, Max Balka and Sam Balka. His brother Lawrence predeceased him.
Balka requested no traditional funeral, asking instead that mourners enjoy a Black and White milkshake in his memory. The family suggests memorial contributions to ACLU-PA "to protect democracy" or Friends of the Wissahickon "to help preserve the trails that were an integral part of his life."
Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com
